Bulk acoustic wave device with stacked piezoelectric layers

ABSTRACT

Aspects of this disclosure relate to a bulk acoustic wave device with a plurality of piezoelectric layers having at least one polarization inversion. The bulk acoustic wave device can include a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers. The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include a piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition. The bulk acoustic wave device can excite an overtone mode as a main mode. Related filters, multiplexers, packaged radio frequency modules, radio frequency front ends, wireless communication devices, and methods are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 C.F.R. § 1.57.This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 63/262,006, filed Oct. 1, 2021 and titled “BULK ACOUSTICWAVE DEVICE WITH PIEZOELECTRIC LAYER FORMED BY ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION,”the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety and for all purposes. This application claims the benefit ofpriority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/262,009, filed Oct. 1,2021 and titled “METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE WITHATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION OF PIEZOELECTRIC LAYER,” the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and for allpurposes. This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/262,013, filed Oct. 1, 2021 and titled“BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE WITH STACKED PIEZOELECTRIC LAYERS,” thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entiretyand for all purposes.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

Embodiments of this disclosure relate to acoustic wave devices, such asbulk acoustic wave devices.

Description of Related Technology

An acoustic wave filter can include a plurality of resonators arrangedto filter a radio frequency signal. Example acoustic wave filtersinclude surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters and bulk acoustic wave (BAW)filters. BAW filters include BAW resonators. Example BAW resonatorsinclude film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBARs) and BAW solidlymounted resonators (SMRs). In BAW resonators, acoustic waves propagatein a bulk of a piezoelectric layer.

Acoustic wave filters can be implemented in radio frequency electronicsystems. For instance, filters in a radio frequency front end of amobile phone can include acoustic wave filters. An acoustic wave filtercan be a band pass filter. A plurality of acoustic wave filters can bearranged as a multiplexer. For example, two acoustic wave filters can bearranged as a duplexer.

Achieving a relatively high resonant frequency for an acoustic waveresonator is desirable for certain applications. However, there aretechnical challenges to manufacturing reliable acoustic wave deviceswith high resonant frequencies that meet performance specifications.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

The innovations described in the claims each have several aspects, nosingle one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes.Without limiting the scope of the claims, some prominent features ofthis disclosure will now be briefly described.

One aspect of this disclosure is a bulk acoustic wave device with aplurality of piezoelectric layers with at least one polarizationinversion. The bulk acoustic wave device includes a first electrode, afirst piezoelectric layer, a second piezoelectric layer over the firstpiezoelectric layer, and a second electrode positioned such that atleast the first piezoelectric layer and the second piezoelectric layerare between the first electrode and the second electrode. The secondpiezoelectric layer is formed by atomic layer deposition. The secondpiezoelectric layer has an opposite polarization relative to the firstpiezoelectric layer. The bulk acoustic wave device is configured togenerate a bulk acoustic wave.

The bulk acoustic wave device can further include a third piezoelectriclayer over the second piezoelectric layer, where the third piezoelectriclayer has a same polarization as the second piezoelectric layer. Thethird piezoelectric layer can be formed by a method different thanatomic layer deposition. The third piezoelectric layer can be formed bysputtering. The third piezoelectric layer can be a doped piezoelectriclayer. For example, the third piezoelectric layer can be a scandiumdoped aluminum nitride layer. The first piezoelectric layer can includescandium doped aluminum nitride. The second piezoelectric layer can beundoped. The bulk acoustic wave device can further include a fourthpiezoelectric layer over the third piezoelectric layer. The fourthpiezoelectric layer can be formed by atomic layer deposition. The fourthpiezoelectric layer can have an opposite polarization relative to thethird piezoelectric layer. The bulk acoustic wave device can furtherinclude a fifth piezoelectric layer over the fourth piezoelectric layer.The fifth piezoelectric layer can be formed by the method different thanatomic layer deposition. For example, the fifth piezoelectric layer canbe formed by sputtering.

The bulk acoustic wave device can further include a third piezoelectriclayer over the second piezoelectric layer. The third piezoelectric layercan be formed by atomic layer deposition and have an oppositepolarization relative to the second piezoelectric layer.

The bulk acoustic wave device can excite a harmonic mode as a main mode.

The first piezoelectric layer and the second piezoelectric layer caneach include aluminum nitride.

The first piezoelectric layer can be formed by a method different thanatomic layer disposition. The first piezoelectric layer can be formed bysputtering.

The bulk acoustic wave device can have a resonant frequency that is over10 gigahertz. The bulk acoustic wave device can have a resonantfrequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 20 gigahertz. The bulkacoustic wave device can have a resonant frequency in a range from 20gigahertz to 30 gigahertz. The bulk acoustic wave device can have aresonant frequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 40 gigahertz.

The bulk acoustic wave device can further include an interposer layerpositioned between the first piezoelectric layer and the secondpiezoelectric layer.

The second piezoelectric layer can include oxygen in a polarizationinitiation zone.

Another aspect of this disclosure is an acoustic wave filter thatincludes a bulk acoustic wave resonator and at least one additionalacoustic wave resonator together arranged to filter a radio frequencysignal. The bulk acoustic wave resonator includes a first piezoelectriclayer and a second piezoelectric layer over the first piezoelectriclayer. The second piezoelectric layer is formed by atomic layerdeposition. The second piezoelectric layer has an opposite polarizationrelative to the first piezoelectric layer.

The at least one additional acoustic wave resonator can include a secondbulk acoustic wave resonator that includes two stacked piezoelectriclayers with opposite polarizations.

The bulk acoustic wave resonator can have a resonant frequency in arange from 10 gigahertz to 40 gigahertz.

The bulk acoustic wave resonator can include a third piezoelectric layerover the second piezoelectric layer. The third piezoelectric layer canbe formed by sputtering and have a same polarization as the secondpiezoelectric layer.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a radio frequency front end thatincludes an acoustic wave filter configured to filter a radio frequencysignal and a radio frequency amplifier coupled to the acoustic wavefilter. The acoustic wave filter includes a plurality of acoustic waveresonators. The plurality of acoustic wave resonators include a bulkacoustic wave resonator. The bulk acoustic wave resonator includes afirst piezoelectric layer and a second piezoelectric layer over thefirst piezoelectric layer. The second piezoelectric layer is formed byatomic layer deposition. The second piezoelectric layer has an oppositepolarization relative to the first piezoelectric layer.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a method of manufacturing a bulkacoustic wave device. The method includes providing a bulk acoustic wavedevice structure including a first piezoelectric layer and forming asecond piezoelectric layer over the first piezoelectric layer by atomiclayer deposition. The second piezoelectric layer has an oppositepolarization relative to the first piezoelectric layer.

The method can further include depositing a third piezoelectric layerover the second piezoelectric layer using a process different thanatomic layer deposition. The third piezoelectric layer can be sputtered.The third piezoelectric layer can have a same polarization as the secondpiezoelectric layer. The third piezoelectric layer can be a dopedpiezoelectric layer. For example, the third piezoelectric layer can be ascandium doped aluminum nitride layer. The first and third piezoelectriclayers can be scandium doped aluminum nitride layers. The method canfurther include depositing a fourth piezoelectric layer over the thirdpiezoelectric layer by atomic layer deposition. The fourth piezoelectriclayer can have an opposite polarization relative to the thirdpiezoelectric layer. The method can further include depositing a fifthpiezoelectric layer over the fourth piezoelectric layer.

The method can further include forming a third piezoelectric layer overthe second piezoelectric layer by atomic layer deposition, in which thethird piezoelectric layer has a same polarization as the firstpiezoelectric layer.

At least one of the first piezoelectric layer and the secondpiezoelectric layer can include aluminum nitride.

The method can further include puttering the first piezoelectric layer.

The bulk acoustic wave device structure can include a first electrodeunder the first piezoelectric layer. The method can further includeforming a second electrode over the second piezoelectric layer such thatat least the first piezoelectric layer and second piezoelectric layerare included between the first electrode and the second electrode.

A bulk acoustic wave device formed by the method can have a resonantfrequency that is over 10 gigahertz. A bulk acoustic wave device formedby the method can have a resonant frequency in a range from 10 gigahertzto 20 gigahertz. A bulk acoustic wave device formed by the method canhave a resonant frequency in a range from 20 gigahertz to 30 gigahertz.A bulk acoustic wave device formed by the method can have a resonantfrequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 40 gigahertz.

The second piezoelectric layer can be a scandium doped aluminum nitridelayer. An oxygen source can be included in vapor for the atomic layerdeposition of the second piezoelectric layer.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a method of manufacturing a bulkacoustic wave device. The method includes providing a bulk acoustic wavedevice structure that includes a first aluminum nitride piezoelectriclayer and forming a second aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer over thefirst aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer by atomic layer deposition.The second aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer has an invertedpolarization relative to the first aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer.

The method can further include depositing a third aluminum nitridepiezoelectric layer over the second aluminum nitride piezoelectriclayer. The third aluminum nitride layer piezoelectric layer can includea dopant. The third aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer can have a samepolarization as the second aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer.

The method can further include forming another aluminum nitridepiezoelectric layer over the second aluminum nitride piezoelectric layerby atomic layer deposition.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a method of manufacturing a bulkacoustic wave device. The method includes sputtering a firstpiezoelectric layer over a first electrode; depositing a secondpiezoelectric layer over the first piezoelectric layer by atomic layerdeposition, the second piezoelectric layer having an invertedpolarization relative to the first piezoelectric layer; sputtering athird piezoelectric layer directly over the second piezoelectric layer,the third piezoelectric layer having a same polarization as the secondpiezoelectric layer; and forming a second electrode over the thirdpiezoelectric layer such that a stack of piezoelectric layers ispositioned between the first electrode and the second electrode, thestack of piezoelectric layers including at least the first, second andthird piezoelectric layers.

The third piezoelectric layer can include aluminum nitride. The thirdpiezoelectric layer can be doped with scandium.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a bulk acoustic wave device withstacked of piezoelectric layers. The bulk acoustic wave device includesa first electrode, a second electrode, and a plurality of stackedpiezoelectric layers positioned between the first electrode and thesecond electrode. The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includesa piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition. The bulkacoustic wave device is configured to excite an overtone mode as a mainmode.

The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include apiezoelectric layer formed by sputtering that is directly over thepiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition. The piezoelectriclayer formed by sputtering can have a same polarization as thepiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition.

The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include apiezoelectric layer formed by sputtering that is directly under thepiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition. The piezoelectriclayer formed by sputtering can have an opposite polarization as thepiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition.

The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include a secondpiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition.

The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include alternatingpiezoelectric layers formed by atomic layer deposition and piezoelectriclayers formed by a method different than atomic layer deposition. Atleast one of the piezoelectric layers formed by the method differentthan atomic layer deposition can include a dopant. Each of thepiezoelectric layers formed by the method different than atomic layerdeposition can include a dopant. The dopant can be scandium.

The plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can include a dopedpiezoelectric layer, and the piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition can be undoped.

Each of the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers can includealuminum nitride.

The overtone mode can have a frequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to40 gigahertz. The overtone mode can have a frequency in a range from 20gigahertz to 30 gigahertz. The overtone mode can have a frequency in arange from 24 gigahertz to 30 gigahertz. The overtone mode can have afrequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 20 gigahertz.

The bulk acoustic wave device can further include an interposer layerpositioned between the piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition and another one of the plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a packaged radio frequency modulethat includes an acoustic wave filter configured to filter a radiofrequency signal, a radio frequency circuit element, and a packagestructure enclosing the acoustic wave filter and the radio frequencycircuit element. The acoustic wave filter includes bulk acoustic waveresonator. The bulk acoustic wave resonator includes a plurality ofstacked piezoelectric layers. The plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers includes a piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition.The bulk acoustic wave resonator is configured to excite an overtonemode as a main mode.

The overtone mode can have a frequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to40 gigahertz.

The radio frequency circuit element can include a radio frequencyswitch. The radio frequency circuit element can include a radiofrequency amplifier.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a method of filtering a radiofrequency signal. The method includes receiving a radio frequency signalat an acoustic wave filter that includes a bulk acoustic wave resonator,the bulk acoustic wave resonator including a plurality of stackedpiezoelectric layers, the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layersincluding a piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition, andthe bulk acoustic wave resonator configured to excite an overtone modeas a main mode; and filtering the radio frequency signal with theacoustic wave filter.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a wireless communication devicethat includes an acoustic wave filter in accordance with any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein and an antenna operativelycoupled to the acoustic wave filter.

For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantagesand novel features of the innovations have been described herein. It isto be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may beachieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, theinnovations may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves oroptimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein withoutnecessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggestedherein.

The present disclosure relates to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.______ [Attorney Docket SKYWRKS. 1240A1], titled “BULK ACOUSTIC WAVEDEVICE WITH PIEZOELECTRIC LAYER FORMED BY ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION,”filed on even date herewith, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. The present disclosure relates to U.S.Patent Application Ser. No. ______ [Attorney Docket SKYWRKS. 1240A2],titled “METHODS OF MANUFACTURING BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE WITH ATOMICLAYER DEPOSITION OF PIEZOELECTRIC LAYER,” filed on even date herewith,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described, by way ofnon-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a bulk acoustic wave(BAW) device that includes a piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition (ALD) in a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layersaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A schematically illustrates an example plan view of a BAW device.

FIG. 2B schematically illustrates another example plan view of a BAWdevice.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of theelectrode and piezoelectric stack of the BAW device of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers positionedbetween electrodes according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers formed by ALDbetween electrodes according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers configured toexcite a third harmonic mode according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers with N-1polarization inversions according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked doped piezoelectric layers anembodiment.

FIG. 11B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of a BAWdevice with a plurality of stacked doped piezoelectric layers with N-1polarization inversions according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack that includes an interposer according to anembodiment.

FIG. 12B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack that includes an interposer according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 12C is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack that includes an interposer according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 13A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of astacked BAW resonator with piezoelectric layers of opposite polarizationaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 13B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of astacked BAW resonator with piezoelectric layer stacks of differentpolarizations according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing a BAWdevice according to an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing a BAWdevice according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a solidly mounted BAWresonator with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers betweenelectrodes according to an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a ladder filter that includes a bulkacoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a lattice filter that includes a bulkacoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid ladder lattice filter thatincludes a bulk acoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment.

FIG. 20A is schematic diagram of an acoustic wave filter. FIG. 20B is aschematic diagram of a duplexer that includes an acoustic wave filteraccording to an embodiment. FIG. 20C is a schematic diagram of amultiplexer that includes an acoustic wave filter according to anembodiment. FIG. 20D is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer thatincludes an acoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. FIG. 20E isa schematic diagram of a multiplexer that includes an acoustic wavefilter according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 are schematic block diagrams ofillustrative packaged modules according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a mobile device.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of one example of a communicationnetwork.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The following description of certain embodiments presents variousdescriptions of specific embodiments. However, the innovations describedherein can be embodied in a multitude of different ways, for example, asdefined and covered by the claims. In this description, reference ismade to the drawings where like reference numerals can indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. It will be understood thatelements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.Moreover, it will be understood that certain embodiments can includemore elements than illustrated in a drawing and/or a subset of theelements illustrated in a drawing. Further, some embodiments canincorporate any suitable combination of features from two or moredrawings.

As demand increases for filtering radio frequency signals with higherfrequencies, acoustic wave resonators with higher resonant frequenciesare desired. Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators are moving toincreasingly higher resonant frequencies approaching 10 gigahertz (GHz).Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators can use a fundamental mode as a mainmode. In such BAW resonators, higher resonant frequencies can beachieved by reducing thickness for the piezoelectric and/or electrodelayers. BAW resonators with a thinner layer stack have generallyprovided higher resonant frequencies. Thinner electrodes can alsocontribute to a higher resonant frequency for a BAW resonator.

Thinner BAW stacks present technical challenges. With a thinner stack,BAW resonators are typically more fragile. Overall thickness of thinnerBAW stacks can be problematic for mechanical stability of a BAWresonator. BAW resonators with thin stacks can be problematic forpost-release processing, such as trimming, applying photoresists, and/orother processing that applies stress on a BAW resonator structure. BAWresonators with relatively thin stacks can have relatively highresistivity. BAW resonators with relatively thin stacks can encountertechnical challenges related to power handling. Moreover, thinnerelectrode layers can have higher electrode resistance that can reduceperformance.

A BAW resonator with a fundamental mode as a main mode can have a stackthickness of λ/2, where λ is a wavelength of a bulk acoustic wavegenerated by the BAW resonator. Operating a BAW resonator at an n-thharmonic of the fundamental frequency can increase the thickness of theBAW stack by roughly n*λ/2, where n is an integer greater than 1. Anadvantage of operating at higher harmonics is that for a given frequencyand impedance, resonator size can increase due to the increased totalpiezoelectric layer thickness and thus reduce capacitance. This canreduce edge losses.

BAW devices can operate with a harmonic mode as a main mode. Such BAWdevices can include a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layerspositioned between electrodes. The stacked piezoelectric layers caninclude adjacent piezoelectric layers having inverted c-axispolarizations. BAW devices with a harmonic mode as a main mode caninclude stacked piezoelectric layers with polarization inversion. Theharmonic mode is an overtone mode.

For very high frequencies (e.g., 30+ GHz), when λ/2 becomes small, thenumber of polarization inverted layers can become relatively large(e.g., >10) to achieve a reliable and robust total stack thickness d,where

$n = {d/{( \frac{\lambda}{2} ).}}$

Piezoelectric materials may have no center of symmetry and no initialpolarization. Polarization can be caused by stress and/or deformation. Adirection of polarization of a given deformation can depend on stackingof atomic layers of a piezoelectric material. For example, an aluminumnitride (AlN) piezoelectric layer can have a polarization that dependson the stacking of aluminum and nitrogen layers. The first depositedlayer can determine the direction in which the material polarizes.

For typical electrode materials (e.g., molybdenum, tungsten, orruthenium) used in mass-manufactured BAW processes, N-type polarizationis the typical polarization for an AlN piezoelectric layer. From amass-manufacturing standpoint, it has been difficult and/or expensive toinvert the polarization of an AlN layer using conventional techniques.Using doped piezoelectric layers, such as scandium doped AlN (AlScN),has made polarization inversion more difficult.

In this disclosure, technical solutions related to depositing AlN byatomic layer deposition (ALD) for polarization inversion are disclosed.

Precursors for AlN have been developed for depositing AlN films by ALD.AlN films can be deposited by thermal ALD or plasma enhanced ALDprocesses. Such ALD processes can produce high quality polycrystallinefilms. With ALD, a first deposited layer of an AlN film can be eitheraluminum or nitrogen. This first deposited layer can set a polarizationof the AlN film. In addition, the polarization of a sputtered AlN layerover the ALD deposited AlN layer can have the same polarization as theunderlying ALD deposited layer.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to a BAW device with a plurality ofstacked piezoelectric layers where an ALD deposited piezoelectric layerhas an opposite polarization as an underlying piezoelectric layer. TheBAW device can operate with a harmonic mode as a main mode. Such a BAWdevice can have a high resonant frequency. At the same time, desirablemechanical stability can be achieved. The ALD deposited piezoelectriclayer can invert polarization in the piezoelectric stack. The ALDdeposited piezoelectric layer can be a few nanometers thick. Anotherpiezoelectric layer can be sputtered over the ALD depositedpiezoelectric layer. The sputtered piezoelectric layer can have a samepolarization as the ALD deposited piezoelectric layer. The sputteredpiezoelectric layer can be thicker than the ALD deposited piezoelectriclayer. In certain applications, the sputtered piezoelectric layer can bedoped. Using ALD deposited piezoelectric layers, any suitable number ofpolarization inversions can be implemented in a piezoelectric layerstack between electrodes of a bulk acoustic wave device.

Although embodiments disclosed herein may be described with reference tosputtering, any other suitable deposition process can be used in placeof sputtering in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein. The other deposition process can be different thanALD. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is one example of a depositionprocess that can be used in place of sputtering. A piezoelectric stackcan include at least one piezoelectric layer formed by ALD and at leastone piezoelectric layer formed by PLD in accordance with any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein. Metal organic chemical vapordeposition (MOCVD) is another example of a deposition process that canbe used in place of sputtering. A piezoelectric stack can include atleast one piezoelectric layer formed by ALD and at least onepiezoelectric layer formed by MOCVD in accordance with any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to a BAW device with a high resonantfrequency that includes a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layersincluding at least one piezoelectric layer formed by ALD. The pluralityof stacked piezoelectric layers is positioned between electrodes of theBAW device. The BAW device is configured to excite an overtone mode as amain mode. The ALD deposited piezoelectric layer can invert polarizationin the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers. The stackedpiezoelectric layers can include a plurality of ALD depositedpiezoelectric layers to invert polarization of the stacked piezoelectriclayers a plurality of times. The number of polarization inversions candepend on a desired target frequency, reliability considerations, and/orone or more other technical specifications. Electrodes, passivation andother structural layers can be part of an n*λ/2 stack. These layers canbe acoustically incorporated into the stack. Such BAW devices can be BAWresonators for filters. Such filters can filter radio frequency signals.

BAW devices disclosed herein with stacked piezoelectric layers includingone or more ALD deposited piezoelectric layers can achieve a relativelyhigh resonant frequency and also achieve other desirable properties. TheBAW devices disclosed herein can achieve one or more of desirablemechanical stability, desirable power handling, relatively highelectromechanical coupling coefficient (k²), or suppression of one ormore non-linearity excitation responses.

With stacked piezoelectric layers, a BAW device can have a thickerpiezoelectric stack than a BAW device with a single piezoelectric layerwith the same resonant frequency. The stacked piezoelectric layers canincrease mechanical stability of the BAW device. This can be useful inpost-release processing. Depositing a piezoelectric layer with ALDprovides a method of inverting piezoelectric layer polarization suitablefor mass manufacturing of BAW devices. For a given frequency andimpedance, resonator size can increase due to the increased totalpiezoelectric layer thickness and reduced capacitance accordingly. Thiscan reduce edge losses.

With stacked piezoelectric layers between electrodes exciting a harmonicmode, a BAW device can achieve a relatively high resonant frequency witha thicker piezoelectric stack than a BAW device with a singlepiezoelectric layer with the same resonant frequency. The BAW devicewith stacked piezoelectric layers can have better power handling. Thiscan be advantageous in transmit filters. Moreover, better power handlingcan be advantageous for certain fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR)applications with relatively high power. BAW devices disclosed hereincan suppress one or more non-linearity excitation responses. Suppressingnon-linearities can contribute to meeting stringent 5G NR system levellinearity specifications. In 5G NR applications, BAW devices disclosedherein can be used for filtering higher frequency ranges than used incertain previous applications for BAW devices.

Any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein can beimplemented in a suitable acoustic wave resonator, such as film bulkacoustic wave resonator (FBAR), a BAW solidly mounted resonator (SMR), astacked BAW resonator with piezoelectric layers with different c-axisorientations on opposing sides of an electrode, a Lamb wave resonator,or the like. Any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein canbe implemented in an acoustic wave device that generates an acousticwave in a stack of piezoelectric layers.

Example BAW devices with a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layersthat include at least one piezoelectric layer deposited by ALD will nowbe discussed. The piezoelectric layer deposited by ALD can invertpolarization in a piezoelectric stack. Any suitable principles andadvantages of these BAW devices can be implemented together with eachother.

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional diagram of a BAW device 10 according to anembodiment. The BAW device 10 includes stacked piezoelectric layers witha piezoelectric layer deposited by ALD. As illustrated, the BAW device10 includes a support substrate 11, an air cavity 12, a passivationlayer 14, and an electrode and piezoelectric stack 15. The BAW device 10also includes a recessed frame structure 17 and raised frame layers 18and 19. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 15 includes a plurality ofpiezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24, a first electrode 26, and a secondelectrode 28. Part of the electrode and piezoelectric stack 15 of theBAW device 10 is shown in FIG. 3 . The part of the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 15 is in a main acoustically active region of theBAW device 10. More details regarding the piezoelectric layers 22, 23and 24, the first electrode 26, and the second electrode 28 will bediscussed with reference to FIG. 3 .

An active region or active domain of the BAW device 10 can be wherevoltage is applied on opposing sides of the stack of piezoelectriclayers over an acoustic reflector, such as the air cavity 12 or a solidacoustic mirror. The illustrated BAW device 10 includes a mainacoustically active region Main, a recessed frame region ReF with therecessed frame structure 17, a first raised frame region RaF1 with thefirst raised frame layer 18, and a second raised frame region RaF2 withthe first raised frame layer 18 and the second raised frame layer 19.The main region Main can be a majority of the area of the BAW device 10.The main acoustically active region Main can provide a main mode of theBAW device 10. The main acoustically active region Main can be thecentral part of the active region that is free from the framestructures, such as raised and recessed frame structures. While the BAWdevice 10 includes the recessed frame structure 17 and the raised framelayers 18 and 19, other frame structures can alternatively oradditionally be implemented. Moreover, a BAW device in accordance withany suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein can beimplemented without a recessed frame structure and/or without a raisedframe structure.

The first raised frame layer 18 is positioned between the secondelectrode 28 and the passivation layer 14. The first raised frame layer18 can be a relatively high acoustic impedance material. For instance,the first raised frame layer 18 layer can include Mo, W, Ru, Ir, Cr, Pt,the like, or any suitable alloy thereof. The first raised frame layer 18layer can be a metallic layer. In such embodiments, the first raisedframe layer 18 can be referred to as a metal raised frame layer.Alternatively, the first raised frame layer 18 can be a suitablenon-metal material with a relatively high density. In some instances,first raised frame layer 18 can be of the same material as the electrode28 of the BAW device 10.

The second raised frame layer 19 can have a relatively lower acousticimpedance. The second raised frame layer 19 can have a lower acousticimpedance than the piezoelectric layers of the BAW device 10. The secondraised frame layer 19 can be an oxide, such as a silicon oxide. Such asecond raised frame layer 19 can be referred to as an oxide raised framelayer. The second raised frame layer 19 can be a dielectric layer. Thesecond raised frame layer 19 layer can include one or more of an oxide,a metal, or a polymer. The second raised frame layer 19 can include, forexample, a SiO₂ layer, a SiN layer, a SiC layer, or any other suitablelow acoustic impedance material. Because SiO₂ is already used in avariety of bulk acoustic wave devices, a SiO₂ second raised frame layer19 can be relatively easy to manufacture.

The air cavity 12 is an example of an acoustic reflector. Asillustrated, the air cavity 12 is etched into the support substrate 11.In some other applications, an air cavity can be over a supportsubstrate. The air cavity 12 is positioned between the support substrate11 and the first electrode 26. The support substrate 11 can be a siliconsubstrate. The support substrate 11 can be any other suitable supportsubstrate.

The passivation layer 14 can be referred to as an upper passivationlayer. The passivation layer 14 can be a silicon dioxide layer or anyother suitable passivation layer, such as aluminum oxide, siliconcarbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or thelike. The passivation layer 14 can have different thicknesses indifferent regions of the BAW device 10. Part of the second passivationlayer 14 can form at least part of a frame structure. As illustrated inFIG. 1 , the passivation layer 14 is thinner in the recessed frameregion ReF. The recessed frame structure 17 includes the thinner part ofthe passivation layer that is non-overlapping with raised frame layers18 and 19. While not shown in FIG. 1 , the BAW device 10 can include apassivation layer positioned between the air cavity 12 and the firstelectrode 26.

A frame region can surround the main acoustically active region of a BAWdevice in plan view. The main acoustically active region can be most ofthe area of a BAW device. The relative size of the main region to theframe region shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is closer to the actual relativesize than shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2A shows an example frame region 32surrounding a main acoustically active region 31 in plan view. Theseregions are shown over a piezoelectric stack 33. The cross-sectionalviews in the drawings can be along the line A-A′ in FIG. 2A in certainembodiments. A BAW device 30A shown in FIG. 2A has a semi-circular orsemi-elliptical shape in plan view. The piezoelectric stack 33 includesone or more piezoelectric layers deposited by ALD in accordance with anysuitable principles and advantages disclosed herein. The frame region 32can include one or more raised frame regions and/or one or more recessedframed regions.

A BAW device in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein can alternatively have any other suitable shape in planview, such as a quadrilateral shape, a quadrilateral shape with curvedsides, a pentagon shape, a pentagon shape with curved sides, or thelike. For example, FIG. 2B shows another example of another BAW device30B with a frame region 32 surrounding a main acoustically active region31 in plan view. The BAW device 30B shown in FIG. 2B has a pentagonshape with rounded sides in plan view. The cross-sectional views in thedrawings can be along the line B-B′ in FIG. 2B in certain embodiments.The piezoelectric stack 33 includes one or more piezoelectric layersdeposited by ALD in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein. The frame region 32 shown in FIG. 2B caninclude one or more raised frame regions and/or one or more recessedframed regions.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a portion of theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 15 of the BAW device 10 of FIG. 1 .FIG. 3 illustrates the electrodes 26 and 28 and piezoelectric layers 22,23, and 24 in a main acoustically active region of the BAW device 10. Inthe electrode and piezoelectric stack 15, the piezoelectric layers 22,23, and 24 are stacked with each other and sandwiched between the firstelectrode 26 and the second electrode 28. In the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 15, the piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24 areacoustically coupled with each other.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first piezoelectric layer 22 and the secondpiezoelectric layer 23 have c-axes oriented in different directions. Thec-axis of the first piezoelectric layer 22 is oriented in an oppositedirection than the c-axis of the second piezoelectric layer 23.

The first piezoelectric layer 22 can be formed by sputtering, such asphysical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering. The first piezoelectriclayer 22 can be an AlN layer. The second piezoelectric layer 23 isformed by ALD. Due to the material of the first electrode 26, the firstpiezoelectric layer 22 can have a first polarization. The firstpolarization can be an N-type polarization. N-type polarization is wherea nitrogen layer is first for an AlN layer. An AlN piezoelectric layerwith N-type polarization can be referred to as being N-polar.

With ALD, different layers can be alternately and sequentially depositedto form a thin film. For example, to form an AlN piezoelectric layer 23,an aluminum layer can be deposited and then a nitrogen layer can bedeposited on the aluminum layer. As another example, to form an AlNpiezoelectric layer, a nitrogen layer can be deposited and then analuminum layer can be deposited on the nitrogen layer. The firstdeposited layer for AlN can set the polarization of an ALD deposited AlNlayer. Depositing aluminum first can set the polarization of the AlNlayer formed by ALD to an opposite polarization than an AlN layer formedby ALD where nitrogen is deposited first.

An aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer can be doped or undoped.Piezoelectric layers deposited by ALD that include aluminum nitride canalso include one or more additional elements, such as a dopant and/oroxygen, in certain applications. An Al(Sc)N piezoelectric layer can bedeposited by ALD using a scandium precursor. An AlON film can bedeposited by ALD with a variety of oxygen to nitrogen ratios. In certainapplications, an Al(Sc)ON piezoelectric can be deposited by ALD. Thepiezoelectric layers deposited by ALD disclosed herein can include oneor more additional elements other than aluminum and nitrogen assuitable.

The second piezoelectric layer 23 can have a second polarization. Thesecond polarization can be an Al-type polarization for an AlN secondpiezoelectric layer 23. Al-type polarization is where an aluminum layeris first. An AlN piezoelectric layer with Al-type polarization can bereferred to as being Al-polar. For AlN, N-type polarization and Al-typepolarization are opposite polarizations. An AlN layer with N-typepolarization has material with an opposite orientation relative to anAlN layer with Al-type polarization. In contrast, two AlN layers withN-type polarization have the same orientation. Similarly, two AlN layerswith Al-type polarization have the same orientation.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the second piezoelectric layer 23 is deposited byALD to have an opposite polarization relative to the underlying firstpiezoelectric layer 22. Polarization can be referred to as polarity.With opposite polarizations, the c-axis of the first piezoelectric layer22 is oriented in an opposite direction relative to the c-axis of thesecond piezoelectric layer 23 in FIG. 3 . Two c-axes are oriented inopposite directions relative to each other when one of c-axes is rotated180° relative to the other of the c-axes. Two c-axes can be oriented inopposite directions relative to each other when one of c-axes is rotatedby an angle in a range from 170° to 190° relative to the other of thec-axes.

The second piezoelectric layer 23 can be a relatively thin layerdeposited by ALD. For example, the second piezoelectric layer 23 can beformed by ALD cycles to have a thickness in a range from 1 nanometer(nm) to 50 nm, such as in a range from 1 nm to 10 nm. The secondpiezoelectric layer 23 can be an ALD deposited template layer that setspolarization of a layer that is sputtered over the second piezoelectriclayer 23.

The third piezoelectric layer 24 can be formed by sputtering over thesecond piezoelectric layer 23. The third piezoelectric layer 24 can beformed directly over the second piezoelectric layer 23. By forming thethird piezoelectric layer 24 by sputtering, the third piezoelectriclayer 24 can have the same polarization as the second piezoelectriclayer 23. For example, both the second and third piezoelectric layers 23and 24, respectively, can be AlN layers with Al-type polarization. TheALD deposited second piezoelectric layer 23 can invert polarization inthe electrode and piezoelectric stack 15. The piezoelectric layers 22and 24 formed by sputtering can be thicker than the piezoelectric layer23 formed by ALD. The piezoelectric layer 22 and the piezoelectric layer24 can each have a thickness of about V/2. The piezoelectric layer 22and/or the piezoelectric layer 24 can have a thickness in a range from20 nm to 2000 nm, such as in a range from 30 nm to 100 nm.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the c-axes of the piezoelectric layers 22,23, and 24 are each oriented perpendicular to a planar surface of thefirst electrode 26. Similarly, the c-axis of the piezoelectric layers22, 23, and 24 are each oriented perpendicular to a planar surface ofthe second electrode 28 in FIG. 3 . The c-axes the piezoelectric layers22, 23, and 24 can each be substantially perpendicular to a planarsurface of the first electrode 26 and/or a planar surface of the secondelectrode 28. Such substantially perpendicular c-axes can be oriented atan angle in a range from 850 to 950 relative to a planar surface of anelectrode. While a piezoelectric layer with a c-axis substantiallyperpendicular to a planar electrode surface is preferred in certainapplications, any other suitable c-axis orientation can be implementedfor a particular application.

The arrangement of the stacked piezoelectric layers 22, 23 and 24 canexcite a second harmonic mode as a main mode for the BAW resonator 10.The second harmonic mode has a resonant frequency that can be about 2times a resonant frequency of a fundamental mode of the BAW device 10.The resonant frequency for the second harmonic mode may not be exactly 2times a resonant frequency of the fundamental mode, for example, due tocontributions of the electrodes 26 and 28 of the BAW device 10 toresonant frequency.

The piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24 can each include a samepiezoelectric material. The piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24 can eachinclude aluminum nitride. Piezoelectric layers that include aluminumnitride can be doped (e.g., with scandium) or undoped. The piezoelectriclayers 22, 23, and 24 can include any suitable piezoelectric material.For example, the piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24 can include zincoxide (ZnO). As another example, the piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and 24can include gallium nitride (GaN), or indium nitride (InN). Sputteredpiezoelectric layers can be doped in certain embodiments. More detailsregarding doped piezoelectric layers will be provided, for example, withreference to FIG. 11A.

Piezoelectric layers formed by ALD and piezoelectric layers formed byother methods, such as sputtering, are physically different.Piezoelectric layers formed by ALD and piezoelectric layers formed byother methods can have one or more different properties that aredetectable. As an example, there can be different impurities in an ALDdeposited piezoelectric layer than a sputtered piezoelectric layer ofthe same material. ALD can involve organic precursors, and ALD depositedpiezoelectric layers can include impurities from one or more of suchprecursors. Various methods, such as energy-dispersive x-rayspectroscopy (EDS) or Rutherford backscattering, can detect carbon fromorganic precursors in piezoelectric layers from by ALD. As anotherexample, an ALD deposited piezoelectric layer can have a different grainstructure and/or a different grain size than a sputtered piezoelectriclayer of the same material. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) canbe used to distinguish between ALD and sputtered piezoelectric layersfrom a grain size point of view. In certain applications, ALD depositedpiezoelectric layer can have larger grain sizes than a sputteredpiezoelectric layer of the same material. In certain applications, apiezoelectric stack includes a sputtered piezoelectric layer that isdoped and an ALD deposited layer that is undoped.

The first piezoelectric layer 22 can have approximately the samethickness as the third piezoelectric layer 24 in certain applications.The first piezoelectric layer 22 and the third piezoelectric layer 24can have any suitable relative sizes for a particular application. Forinstance, the first piezoelectric layer 22 and the third piezoelectriclayer 24 can have an approximately 60/40 ratio in certain applications.The ratio of the first piezoelectric layer 22 thickness and the thirdpiezoelectric layer 24 thickness can be selected based on parasiticsassociated with the BAW device 10 that includes the piezoelectric layers22 and 24. For example, relative sizes of the piezoelectric layers 22and 24 can be selected to provide stronger suppression of anon-linearity in the presence of parasitics that impact thepiezoelectric layers 22 and 24.

The first electrode 26 can be referred to as a lower electrode. Thefirst electrode 26 can have a relatively high acoustic impedance. Thefirst electrode 26 can include molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), ruthenium(Ru), chromium (Cr), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), Ir/Pt, nickel (Ni),cobalt (Co), or any suitable alloy and/or combination thereof.Similarly, the second electrode 28 can have a relatively high acousticimpedance. The second electrode 28 can include Mo, W, Ru, Cr, Ir, Pt,Ir/Pt, Ni, Co, or any suitable alloy and/or combination thereof. Thesecond electrode 28 can be formed of the same material as the firstelectrode 26 in certain instances. The second electrode 28 can bereferred to as an upper electrode. The thickness of the first electrode26 can be approximately the same as the thickness of the secondelectrode 28 in the electrode and piezoelectric stack 15. The firstelectrode 26 and the second electrode 28 can be the only electrodes ofthe BAW device 10.

Other embodiments of piezoelectric and electrode stacks of BAW deviceswith a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers that include at leastone piezoelectric layer formed by ALD will be discussed with referenceto example cross sections shown in FIGS. 4 to 13B. These electrode andpiezoelectric stacks can be implemented in place of the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 15 of FIGS. 1 and 3 . These electrode andpiezoelectric stacks can be implemented in any other suitable BAWdevice. A piezoelectric stack positioned between electrodes can includeany suitable combination of piezoelectric layers formed by ALD andanother method such as sputtering. Any suitable combination of featuresof the electrode and piezoelectric stacks of FIGS. 3 to 13B can becombined with each other.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 40 according to an embodiment. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 40 is like the electrode and piezoelectric stack 15of FIG. 3 , except that an additional piezoelectric layer 42 formed byALD is included in the electrode and piezoelectric stack 40. Thepiezoelectric layer 42 is directly over the first electrode 26 in FIG. 4. The ALD formed piezoelectric layer 42 can control polarization of thepiezoelectric layer 22 formed directly over the piezoelectric layer 42.The piezoelectric layer 22 can be formed by sputtering. The firstpiezoelectric layer 42 formed by ALD and the first piezoelectric layer22 have the same polarization in the electrode and piezoelectric stack40. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 40 stack is configured toexcite a second harmonic mode as a main mode. In an embodiment, thepiezoelectric layer 42 is an AlN layer with N-type polarization formedby ALD, the piezoelectric layer 22 is an AlN layer with N-typepolarization formed by sputtering, the piezoelectric layer 23 is an AlNlayer with Al-type polarization formed by ALD, and the piezoelectriclayer 24 is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formed by sputtering.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 50 according to an embodiment. The electrode andpiezoelectric 50 is an example where all of the stacked piezoelectriclayers are formed by ALD. Using ALD to form each piezoelectric layer ofa stack of piezoelectric layers, the polarization of each piezoelectriclayer can be controlled by the sequence of ALD cycles. In the electrodeand piezoelectric stack 50, piezoelectric layers 52 and 54 have oppositepolarizations and are each formed by ALD. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 50 can be suitable for high frequency applicationswhere a BAW device has a high resonant frequency and/or with thinpiezoelectric layers. The piezoelectric layers of the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 50 can be formed in a single ALD machine in certainapplications.

In certain applications, the piezoelectric layers 52 and 54 can each bethicker than other piezoelectric layers formed by ALD disclosed hereinthat have a sputtered piezoelectric layer directly thereover. To form athicker piezoelectric layer by ALD, more ALD cycles can be performed. Inan embodiment, the piezoelectric layer 52 is an AlN layer with N-typepolarization formed by ALD and the piezoelectric layer 52 is an AlNlayer with Al-type polarization formed by ALD.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 60 according to an embodiment. In the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 60, a first piezoelectric layer 22 can be formed bysputtering and a second piezoelectric layer 54 is formed by ALD directlyover the first piezoelectric layer 22. The first and secondpiezoelectric layers 22 and 54, respectively, have oppositepolarizations. The second piezoelectric layer 54 can be approximatelythe same thickness as the first piezoelectric layer 22. The electrodeand piezoelectric stack 60 can excite a second harmonic mode as a mainmode. In an embodiment, the piezoelectric layer 22 is an AlN layer withN-type polarization formed by sputtering and the piezoelectric layer 54is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formed by ALD.

Although FIG. 6 illustrates a single piezoelectric layer formed by ALDover a piezoelectric layer formed by sputtering, a piezoelectric stackcan include two or more piezoelectric layers formed by ALD havingalternating polarizations formed by ALD over a piezoelectric layerformed by sputtering in some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 70 according to an embodiment. In the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 70, a piezoelectric layer 42 is formed by ALD, apiezoelectric layer 22 can be formed by sputtering directly over thepiezoelectric layer 42, and a piezoelectric layer 54 is formed by ALDdirectly over the piezoelectric layer 22. The piezoelectric layer 42 canbe a relatively thin layer that sets a polarization of the piezoelectriclayer 22. The piezoelectric layer 54 inverts the polarization in theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 70. ALD cycles can be repeated untilthe piezoelectric layer 54 has a desired thickness. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 70 can excite a second harmonic mode as a main mode.In an embodiment, the piezoelectric layer 42 is an AlN layer with N-typepolarization formed by ALD, the piezoelectric layer 22 is an AlN layerwith N-type polarization formed by sputtering, and the piezoelectriclayer 54 is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formed by ALD.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 80 according to an embodiment. In the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 80, a piezoelectric layer 52 is formed by ALD, apiezoelectric layer 23 is formed directly over the piezoelectric layer42 by ALD, and a piezoelectric layer 24 can be formed directly over thepiezoelectric layer 23 by sputtering. The piezoelectric layer 23 can bea relatively thin layer that inverts polarization in the piezoelectricstack and sets a polarization of the piezoelectric layer 24. Theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 80 can excite a second harmonic modeas a main mode. In an embodiment, the piezoelectric layer 52 is an AlNlayer with N-type polarization formed by ALD, the piezoelectric layer 23is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formed by ALD, and thepiezoelectric layer 24 is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formedby sputtering.

BAW devices with electrode and piezoelectric stacks of FIGS. 3 to 8 canexcite a second harmonic mode as a main mode. Any suitable principlesand advantages disclosed herein can be applied to a BAW device that isarranged to excite a third harmonic mode, a fourth harmonic mode, afifth harmonic mode, or a higher harmonic mode as a main mode. Such BAWdevices can excite a harmonic mode with a resonant frequency in a rangefrom 5 GHz to 40 GHz, for example.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 90 according to an embodiment. In the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 90, a plurality of stacked piezoelectric layersincludes alternating piezoelectric layers formed by ALD andpiezoelectric layers that can be formed by sputtering. As illustrated inFIG. 9 , the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includes a firstpiezoelectric layer 22 that can be formed by sputtering, a firstpiezoelectric layer 23 formed by ALD, a second piezoelectric layer 24that can be formed by sputtering, a second piezoelectric layer 92 formedby ALD, and a third piezoelectric layer 93 that can be formed bysputtering. The piezoelectric layers 23 and 92 formed by ALD invertpolarization of the piezoelectric stack of the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 90. The piezoelectric layers 24 and 93 have the samepolarization as a piezoelectric layer formed by ALD directly thereunder.The electrode and piezoelectric stack 90 can excite a third harmonicmode as a main mode. The third harmonic mode has a resonant frequencythat can be about 3 times a resonant frequency of a fundamental mode ofa BAW device. The resonant frequency for the third harmonic mode may notbe exactly 3 times a resonant frequency of the fundamental mode, forexample, due to contributions of the electrodes 26 and 28 of the BAWdevice to resonant frequency. In an embodiment, the piezoelectric layer22 is an AlN layer with N-type polarization formed by sputtering, thepiezoelectric layer 23 is an AlN layer with Al-type polarization formedby ALD, the piezoelectric layer 24 is an AlN layer with Al-typepolarization formed by sputtering, the piezoelectric layer 92 is an AlNlayer with N-type polarization formed by ALD, and the piezoelectriclayer 93 is an AlN layer with N-type polarization formed by sputtering.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 100 according to an embodiment. The principles andadvantages of the stacked piezoelectric layers disclosed herein can beapplied to excite an n-th harmonic mode as a main mode. With N-1polarization inversions, the n-th harmonic mode can be excited. Therecan be N sputtered piezoelectric layers and N piezoelectric layersformed by ALD in such a device. In some other instances, there can be Nsputtered piezoelectric layers and N-1 piezoelectric layers formed byALD where the first piezoelectric layer over a lower electrode is asputtered.

In the electrode and piezoelectric stack 100, a plurality of stackedpiezoelectric layers includes alternating piezoelectric layers formed byatomic layer deposition and piezoelectric layers formed by sputtering.As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers includes piezoelectric layers 42 and 102 formed by ALD andpiezoelectric layers 22 and 103 formed by sputtering. Piezoelectriclayers formed by ALD can create the N-1 polarization inversions in theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 100. The piezoelectric layers formedby sputtering have the same polarization as a piezoelectric layer formedby ALD directly thereunder. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 100can excite an n-th harmonic mode as a main mode. The n-th harmonic modehas a resonant frequency that can be about N times a resonant frequencyof a fundamental mode of the BAW device, where N is a positive integergreater than 2.

Any of the piezoelectric layers formed by sputtering disclosed hereincan be doped. Piezoelectric layers formed by ALD can be doped. Doping apiezoelectric can increase the coupling coefficient k² of a BAW device.Doping to increase the coupling coefficient k² can be advantageous athigher frequencies where the coupling coefficient k² can be degraded.Doping a piezoelectric layer can adjust resonant frequency of a BAWdevice. FIG. 11A illustrates an example electrode and piezoelectricstack that includes doped piezoelectric layers formed by sputtering.Including a dopant in a piezoelectric layer can improve thepiezoelectric response. As an example, scandium (Sc) can be added to analuminum nitride film to improve the piezoelectric response.

FIG. 11A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 110 according to an embodiment. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 110 is like the piezoelectric stack 15 of FIG. 3 ,except that sputtered piezoelectric layers 112 and 114 are doped. Asillustrated, the electrode and piezoelectric stack 110 includes a firstdoped piezoelectric layer 112, a piezoelectric 23 formed by ALD, and asecond doped piezoelectric layer 114. The piezoelectric layer 23 formedby ALD inverts polarization of the piezoelectric layers in the electrodeand piezoelectric stack 110. The piezoelectric layer 23 formed by ALDcan be undoped. In some applications, a piezoelectric layer formed byALD can be doped. For example, a scandium doped aluminum nitridepiezoelectric layer can be formed by ALD. A scandium precursor can beused in ALD to form an Al(Sc)N piezoelectric layer.

The doped first piezoelectric layer 122 is formed by sputtering, such asPVD sputtering. The first doped piezoelectric layer 122 can be an AlNlayer doped with scandium. The doped first piezoelectric layer 122 canbe formed by radio frequency (RF) sputtering from a compound target witha fixed dopant composition. The piezoelectric layer 23 is formed by ALDsuch that the piezoelectric layer has an opposite polarization relativeto the first doped piezoelectric layer 112. The second dopedpiezoelectric layer 114 is formed by sputtering over the piezoelectriclayer 23. By forming the second doped piezoelectric layer 114 bysputtering, the second doped piezoelectric layer 114 can have the samepolarization as the piezoelectric layer 23.

The first doped piezoelectric layer 112 can be doped with any suitabledopant, such as a scandium (Sc) based dopant, a magnesium (Mg) baseddopant, a calcium (Ca) based dopant, a yttrium (Y) based dopant, achromium (Cr) based dopant, or the like. Example doped aluminum nitridebased piezoelectric films include without limitation Al(Sc)N, Al(ScB)N,Al(MgZr)N, Al(MgTi)N, Al(MgHf)N, Al(MgNb)N, Al(CaSi)N. Al(Y)N, andAl(YB)N.

The second doped piezoelectric layer 114 can be doped with any suitabledopant, such as any of the dopants from the previous paragraph. Incertain applications, the first doped piezoelectric layer 112 and thesecond doped piezoelectric layer 114 can be doped with the same dopantand similar or the same doping concentration. In such applications, thesame compound target can be used for sputtering the first dopedpiezoelectric layer 112 and the second doped piezoelectric layer 114.According to some other applications, the first doped piezoelectriclayer 112 and the second doped piezoelectric layer 114 can be doped withdifferent dopants and/or doping concentrations.

FIG. 11B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 120 according to an embodiment. The principles andadvantages of the stacked piezoelectric layers disclosed herein can beapplied to excite an n-th harmonic mode as a main mode where one or moreof the sputtered piezoelectric layers are doped. With N-1 polarizationinversions, the n-th harmonic mode can be excited. There can be Nsputtered doped piezoelectric layers and N-1 piezoelectric layers formedby ALD in such a device. In the electrode and piezoelectric stack 120, aplurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includes alternating dopedpiezoelectric layers formed by sputtering and piezoelectric layersformed by ALD.

The electrode and piezoelectric stack 120 is like the electrode andpiezoelectric stack 100 of FIG. 10 , except that (1) the piezoelectriclayers 112, 123 formed by sputtering are doped and (2) a piezoelectriclayer 112 is formed directly over the first electrode 26. The dopedpiezoelectric layers 112 and 123 formed by sputtering can be aluminumnitride layers doped with scandium, for example. The doped piezoelectriclayers 112 and 123 formed by sputtering can include any suitablepiezoelectric material and any suitable dopant(s). The piezoelectriclayers in the electrode and piezoelectric stack 120 that are formed byALD (e.g., the piezoelectric layer 102) can be undoped.

In certain applications, an interposer can be included between stackedpiezoelectric layers of a BAW device. An interposer can be includedbetween any two suitable stacked piezoelectric layers of any of theembodiments disclosed herein. Such an interposer can be a metalinterposer or a dielectric interposer. The interposer can include metalwith relatively high acoustic impedance, such as one or more ofruthenium, tungsten, or molybdenum. The interposer can be a single layeror a multi-layer stack. The interposer can be positioned between asputtered piezoelectric layer and a piezoelectric layer formed by ALD.For example, during manufacturing, the interposer can be formed over apiezoelectric layer and then another piezoelectric layer can be formedon the interposer by ALD. Example electrode and piezoelectric stackswith an interposer will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 12A and12B.

FIG. 12A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 125 that includes an interposer 127 according to anembodiment. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 125 is like theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 110 of FIG. 11A, except that theinterposer 127 is included. As illustrated in FIG. 12A, the interposer127 is positioned between a first doped piezoelectric layer 112 and apiezoelectric 23 formed by ALD. During manufacture, the interposer 127can be formed over the first doped piezoelectric layer 112 and then thepiezoelectric layer 23 can be over formed by ALD over the interposer127. The interposer 127 can be a metal interposer. The interposer 127can include a metal with a relatively high acoustic impedance, such asruthenium, tungsten, or molybdenum. The interposer 127 can be a singlelayer. Alternatively, the interposer 127 can include a plurality oflayers. In an embodiment, the first doped piezoelectric layer 112 is ascandium doped aluminum nitride layer with N-type polarization formed bysputtering, the interposer 127 is a metal interposer, the piezoelectric23 formed by ALD is an aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer with Al-typepolarization, the second doped piezoelectric layer 114 is a scandiumdoped aluminum nitride layer with Al-type polarization formed bysputtering.

FIG. 12B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 128 that includes an interposer 127 according toanother embodiment. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 128 is likethe electrode and piezoelectric stack piezoelectric stack 70 of FIG. 7 ,except that the interposer 127 is included. As illustrated in FIG. 12B,the interposer 127 is positioned between a piezoelectric layer 22 and apiezoelectric layer 54 is formed by ALD. During manufacture, thepiezoelectric layer 22 can be formed by sputtering, the interposer 127can be formed over the piezoelectric layer 22, and then thepiezoelectric layer 54 can be over formed by ALD over the interposer127. The interposer 127 can be implemented in accordance with anysuitable principles and advantages of the interposers disclosed herein.

FIG. 12C is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 129 that includes an interposer 127 according toanother embodiment. The electrode and piezoelectric stack 129 includesdoped piezoelectric layers. In the electrode and piezoelectric stack129, a piezoelectric layer that is directly over the bottom electrodehas an opposite polarization relative to a piezoelectric layer directlyover the bottom electrode of the electrode and piezoelectric stack 125of FIG. 12A or the electrode or the piezoelectric stack 128 of FIG. 12B.The electrode and piezoelectric stack 129 includes a piezoelectric layerdirectly over the interposer 127 having an opposite polarization than apiezoelectric layer directly over the interposer 127 in the electrodeand piezoelectric stack 125 of FIG. 12A or in the 128 electrode andpiezoelectric stack of FIG. 12B.

In the electrode and piezoelectric stack 129, the interposer 127 can bepositioned between two piezoelectric layers having oppositepolarizations and formed by the same type of process, such assputtering. During manufacture, the piezoelectric layer 23 can be formedby ALD over the bottom electrode 26 and the second doped piezoelectriclayer 114 can be formed over the piezoelectric layer 23 formed by ALDsuch that these two piezoelectric layers have a same polarization. Theinterposer 127 can be formed over the second doped piezoelectric layer114. Then the first doped piezoelectric layer 112 can be formed over theinterposer 127 such that the first doped piezoelectric layer 112 has anopposite polarization than the second doped piezoelectric layer 114. Inthis case, the interposer 127 can invert polarization of piezoelectriclayers in the electrode and piezoelectric stack 129.

In an embodiment of FIG. 12C, the piezoelectric 23 formed by ALD is analuminum nitride piezoelectric layer with Al-type polarization, thesecond doped piezoelectric layer 114 is a scandium doped aluminumnitride layer with Al-type polarization formed by sputtering, theinterposer is a metal interposer, and the first doped piezoelectriclayer 112 is a scandium doped aluminum nitride layer with N-typepolarization formed by sputtering.

BAW devices in accordance with principles and advantages disclosedherein can have a main mode with a relatively high resonant frequency.Such a resonant frequency can be in a range from 10 gigahertz to 20gigahertz, 20 gigahertz to 30 gigahertz, 24 gigahertz to 30 gigahertz,or 10 gigahertz to 40 gigahertz.

Any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein can beimplemented in a stacked BAW resonator with piezoelectric layers ofopposite polarization. Such a BAW resonator can be a stacked resonatorthat includes two FBARs with c-axes oriented in opposite directions.Such a BAW resonator can be driven from a center electrode between FBARstacks and also include grounded electrodes on the top and bottom of thestack.

FIG. 13A is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 130 according to an embodiment. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 130 can implement a reversed c-axis bulk acousticresonator. The reversed c-axis bulk acoustic wave resonator can haveabout one quarter the area of a similar FBAR. In a reversed c-axis bulkacoustic wave resonator, the top and bottom piezoelectric layers haveopposite or reversed polarizations. The electrode and piezoelectricstack 130 can be used in applications for filtering radio frequencysignals with relatively low frequencies for wireless communications(e.g., frequencies in a range from 300 MHz to 500 MHz).

The electrode and piezoelectric stack 130 includes a grounded lowerelectrode 26, a drive electrode 131, and a grounded upper electrode 136.In the electrode and piezoelectric stack 130, piezoelectric layer 22 ispositioned between the grounded lower electrode 26 and the driveelectrode 131. Piezoelectric layers 132 and 133 are stacked with eachother and positioned between the drive electrode 131 and the groundedupper electrode 136. Any of the sputtered piezoelectric layers of theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 130 can be doped in certainapplications.

The piezoelectric layer 132 is formed over the drive electrode 131 byALD. The piezoelectric layer 132 can be an AlN layer. The piezoelectriclayer 132 has an opposite polarization than the piezoelectric layer 22.The piezoelectric layer 132 can invert the c-axis of piezoelectriclayers 132 and 133 over the drive electrode 131 relative thepiezoelectric layer 22 under the drive electrode 131. The piezoelectriclayer 133 can be formed over the piezoelectric layer 132 by sputtering.The piezoelectric layers 132 and 133 have c-axes oriented in the samedirection.

FIG. 13B is a cross sectional schematic diagram of an electrode andpiezoelectric stack 138 according to an embodiment. The electrode andpiezoelectric stack 138 includes two piezoelectric layer stacks onopposing sides of the drive electrode 131, where each of thepiezoelectric layer stacks includes a polarization inversion. In theelectrode and piezoelectric stack 138, piezoelectric layers 22, 23, and24 are stacked with each other and positioned between the grounded lowerelectrode 26 and the drive electrode 131. Piezoelectric layers 132, 133,134, and 135 are stacked with each other and positioned between thedrive electrode 131 and grounded upper electrode 136. Any of thesputtered piezoelectric layers of the electrode and piezoelectric stack130 can be doped in certain applications.

The piezoelectric layer 132 is formed over the drive electrode 131 byALD. The piezoelectric layer 132 can be an AlN layer. The piezoelectriclayer 132 has the same orientation as the piezoelectric layer 24. Thepiezoelectric layer 133 is formed over the piezoelectric layer 132 bysputtering. The piezoelectric layers 132 and 133 have c-axes oriented inthe same direction. The piezoelectric layer 134 is formed over thepiezoelectric layer 133 by ALD. The piezoelectric layers 133 and 134have c-axes oriented in opposite directions. The piezoelectric layer 135is formed over the piezoelectric layer by sputtering. The piezoelectriclayers 134 and 135 have c-axes oriented in the same direction.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to methods of manufacturing BAWdevices with polarization inversion in a piezoelectric stack. One ormore piezoelectric layers in the piezoelectric stack can be formed byALD to invert polarization. Examples methods are discussed withreference to FIGS. 14 and 15 . Methods disclosed herein can be used tomanufacture any suitable electrode and piezoelectric stack disclosedherein. BAW devices manufactured by methods disclosed herein can achieverelatively high frequencies and provide desirable mechanical stabilityand/or power handling. Any suitable principles and advantages of themethods of manufacturing BAW devices disclosed herein can be implementedtogether with each other.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example method 140 of manufacturing aBAW device according to an embodiment. At block 142, a BAW structureincluding a first piezoelectric layer is provided. The BAW structure ispart of an unfinished BAW device. The BAW device structure can include asupport substrate, an acoustic reflector (e.g., an air cavity) over thesupport substrate, a first electrode and the first piezoelectric layer.The BAW device structure can include one or more other piezoelectriclayers stacked with the first piezoelectric layer. The firstpiezoelectric layer can include aluminum nitride. The firstpiezoelectric layer can be doped. The first piezoelectric layer can beformed by sputtering.

At block 144, a second piezoelectric layer is formed over the firstpiezoelectric layer by ALD. The second piezoelectric layer has anopposite orientation relative to the first piezoelectric layer. Theopposite orientation can be an opposite polarization. The secondpiezoelectric layer inverts polarization in the piezoelectric layerstack.

In certain applications, an oxygen source can be included in vapor forALD of the second piezoelectric layer. For example, an oxygen source canbe added to the gases of an ALD Al(Sc)N film deposition. Including anoxygen source in vapor for ALD of an aluminum nitride piezoelectric filmcan invert aluminum nitride polarization. With an oxygen source in gasfor ALD of an aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer, there can be analuminum nitride film with oxygen (Al(O)N) in a polarization initiationzone of the aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer.

One or more other piezoelectric layers can be formed over and stackedwith the second piezoelectric layer. The one or more other piezoelectriclayers can be formed by sputtering and/or ALD. With additionalpolarization inversions in the piezoelectric stack, a higher orderharmonic mode with a higher frequency can be a main mode of the BAWdevice.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of an example method 150 of manufacturing aBAW device according to an embodiment. The method 150 involves forming aplurality of stacked piezoelectric layers with polarization inversion.At block 142, a BAW structure with a piezoelectric layer is provided. Anadditional piezoelectric layer is formed over the piezoelectric layer byALD at block 144. The additional piezoelectric layer and thepiezoelectric layer have opposite orientations. Another piezoelectriclayer is formed over the additional piezoelectric layer by sputtering atblock 156. These piezoelectric layers have the same orientation as eachother. One or more other piezoelectric layers can be formed in the stackby ALD and/or sputtering until the piezoelectric stack is complete atblock 158. Then an electrode can be formed over the piezoelectric stackso that the piezoelectric stack is positioned between a pair ofelectrodes.

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a BAW device 160according to an embodiment. The BAW device 160 is like the BAW device 10of FIG. 1 except that a solid acoustic mirror 162 is included in placeof an air cavity 12. The solid acoustic mirror 162 is an acoustic Braggreflector. The solid acoustic mirror 162 includes alternating lowacoustic impedance and high acoustic impedance layers. As one example,the solid acoustic mirror 162 can include alternating silicon dioxidelayers as low impedance layers and tungsten layers as high impedancelayers. The BAW device 160 is an example of a solidly mounted resonator(SMR) BAW device. Any suitable principles and advantages of disclosedherein can be applied in SMR BAW devices. The BAW device 160 can be atype II BAW device.

BAW devices disclosed herein can be implemented as BAW resonators in inacoustic wave filters. Such filters can be arranged to filter a radiofrequency signal. In certain applications, the acoustic wave filters canbe band pass filters arranged to pass a radio frequency band andattenuate frequencies outside of the radio frequency band. Acoustic wavefilters can implement band rejection filters. Bulk acoustic wave devicesdisclosed herein can be implemented in a variety of different filtertopologies. Example filter topologies include a ladder filter, a latticefilter, and a hybrid ladder lattice filter, and the like. An acousticwave filter can include all BAW resonators or one or more BAW resonatorsand one or more other types of acoustic wave resonators such as a SAWresonator. BAW resonators disclosed herein can be implemented in afilter that includes at least one BAW resonator and a non-acousticinductor-capacitor component. Some example filter topologies will now bediscussed with reference to FIG. 17 to 19 . Any suitable combination offeatures of the filter topologies of FIGS. 17 to 19 can be implementedtogether with each other and/or with other filter topologies.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a ladder filter 240 that includes abulk acoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment. The ladderfilter 240 is an example topology that can implement a band pass filterformed from acoustic wave resonators. In a band pass filter with aladder filter topology, the shunt resonators can have lower resonantfrequencies than the series resonators. The ladder filter 240 can bearranged to filter a radio frequency signal. As illustrated, the ladderfilter 240 includes series acoustic wave resonators R1, R3, R5, and R7and shunt acoustic wave resonators R2, R4, R6, and R8 coupled between afirst input/output port I/O₁ and a second input/output port I/O₂. Anysuitable number of series acoustic wave resonators can be in included ina ladder filter. Any suitable number of shunt acoustic wave resonatorscan be included in a ladder filter. The first input/output port I/O₁ cana transmit port and the second input/output port I/O₂ can be an antennaport. Alternatively, first input/output port I/O₁ can be a receive portand the second input/output port I/O₂ can be an antenna port.

One or more of the acoustic wave resonators of the ladder filter 240 caninclude a bulk acoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. Forexample, some or all of the acoustic wave resonators R1 to R8 can havestacked piezoelectric layers with one or more piezoelectric layersformed by ALD that invert a c-axis orientation. Such acoustic waveresonator(s) can have a high frequency for a main mode and also providedesirable mechanical stability and/or power ruggedness.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a lattice filter 250 that includes abulk acoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment. The latticefilter 250 is an example topology that can form a band pass filter fromacoustic wave resonators. The lattice filter 250 can be arranged tofilter an RF signal. As illustrated, the lattice filter 250 includesacoustic wave resonators RL1, RL2, RL3, and RL4. The acoustic waveresonators RL1 and RL2 are series resonators. The acoustic waveresonators RL3 and RL4 are shunt resonators. The illustrated latticefilter 250 has a balanced input and a balanced output. One or more ofthe illustrated acoustic wave resonators RL1 to RL4 can be a bulkacoustic wave resonator in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a hybrid ladder and lattice filter 260that includes a bulk acoustic wave resonator according to an embodiment.The illustrated hybrid ladder and lattice filter 260 includes seriesacoustic resonators RL1, RL2, RH3, and RH4 and shunt acoustic resonatorsRL3, RL4, RH1, and RH2. The hybrid ladder and lattice filter 260includes one or more bulk acoustic wave resonators in accordance withany suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein.

In some applications, a bulk acoustic wave resonator can be included infilter that also includes one or more inductors and one or morecapacitors.

The principles and advantages disclosed herein can be implemented in astandalone filter and/or in one or more filters in any suitablemultiplexer. Such filters can be any suitable topology discussed herein,such as any filter topology in accordance with any suitable principlesand advantages disclosed with reference to FIG. 17 . The filter can be aband pass filter arranged to filter a fourth generation (4G) Long TermEvolution (LTE) band and/or a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) band.Examples of a standalone filter and multiplexers will be discussed withreference to FIGS. 20A to 20E. Any suitable principles and advantages ofthese filters and/or multiplexers can be implemented together with eachother. Moreover, the bulk acoustic wave resonators disclosed herein canbe included in filter that also includes one or more inductors and oneor more capacitors.

FIG. 20A is schematic diagram of an acoustic wave filter 330. Theacoustic wave filter 330 is a band pass filter. The acoustic wave filter330 is arranged to filter a radio frequency signal. The acoustic wavefilter 330 includes a plurality of acoustic wave resonators coupledbetween a first input/output port RF_IN and a second input/output portRF_OUT. The acoustic wave filter 330 includes one or more BAW resonatorsimplemented in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein.

FIG. 20B is a schematic diagram of a duplexer 332 that includes anacoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. The duplexer 332includes a first filter 330A and a second filter 330B coupled totogether at a common node COM. One of the filters of the duplexer 332can be a transmit filter and the other of the filters of the duplexer332 can be a receive filter. In some other instances, such as in adiversity receive application, the duplexer 332 can include two receivefilters. Alternatively, the duplexer 332 can include two transmitfilters. The common node COM can be an antenna node.

The first filter 330A is an acoustic wave filter arranged to filter aradio frequency signal. The first filter 330A includes acoustic waveresonators coupled between a first radio frequency node RF1 and thecommon node COM. The first radio frequency node RF1 can be a transmitnode or a receive node. The first filter 330A includes one or more BAWresonators implemented in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein.

The second filter 330B can be any suitable filter arranged to filter asecond radio frequency signal. The second filter 330B can be, forexample, an acoustic wave filter, an acoustic wave filter that includesone or more BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principlesand advantages disclosed herein, an LC filter, a hybrid acoustic wave LCfilter, or the like. The second filter 330B is coupled between a secondradio frequency node RF2 and the common node. The second radio frequencynode RF2 can be a transmit node or a receive node.

Although example embodiments may be discussed with filters or duplexersfor illustrative purposes, any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein can be implemented in a multiplexer that includes aplurality of filters coupled together at a common node. Examples ofmultiplexers include but are not limited to a duplexer with two filterscoupled together at a common node, a triplexer with three filterscoupled together at a common node, a quadplexer with four filterscoupled together at a common node, a hexaplexer with six filters coupledtogether at a common node, an octoplexer with eight filters coupledtogether at a common node, or the like. Multiplexers can include filtershaving different passbands. Multiplexers can include any suitable numberof transmit filters and any suitable number of receive filters. Forexample, a multiplexer can include all receive filters, all transmitfilters, or one or more transmit filters and one or more receivefilters. One or more filters of a multiplexer can include any suitablenumber of BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein.

FIG. 20C is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer 334 that includes anacoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. The multiplexer 334includes a plurality of filters 330A to 330N coupled together at acommon node COM. The plurality of filters can include any suitablenumber of filters including, for example, 3 filters, 4 filters, 5filters, 6 filters, 7 filters, 8 filters, or more filters. Some or allof the plurality of acoustic wave filters can be acoustic wave filters.As illustrated, the filters 330A to 330N each have a fixed electricalconnection to the common node COM. This can be referred to as hardmultiplexing or fixed multiplexing. Filters have fixed electricalconnections to the common node in hard multiplexing applications. Eachof the filters 330A to 330N has a respective input/output node RF1 toRFN.

The first filter 330A is an acoustic wave filter arranged to filter aradio frequency signal. The first filter 330A can include one or moreacoustic wave devices coupled between a first radio frequency node RF1and the common node COM. The first radio frequency node RF1 can be atransmit node or a receive node. The first filter 330A includes one ormore BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein. The other filter(s) of the multiplexer 334can include one or more acoustic wave filters, one or more acoustic wavefilters that include one or more BAW resonators in accordance with anysuitable principles and advantages disclosed herein, one or more LCfilters, one or more hybrid acoustic wave LC filters, or any suitablecombination thereof.

FIG. 20D is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer 336 that includes anacoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. The multiplexer 336 islike the multiplexer 334 of FIG. 20C, except that the multiplexer 336implements switched multiplexing. In switched multiplexing, a filter iscoupled to a common node via a switch. In the multiplexer 336, theswitches 337A to 337N can selectively electrically connect respectivefilters 330A to 330N to the common node COM. For example, the switch337A can selectively electrically connect the first filter 330A to thecommon node COM via the switch 337A. Any suitable number of the switches337A to 337N can electrically a respective filters 330A to 330N to thecommon node COM in a given state. Similarly, any suitable number of theswitches 337A to 337N can electrically isolate a respective filter 330Ato 330N to the common node COM in a given state. The functionality ofthe switches 337A to 337N can support various carrier aggregations.

FIG. 20E is a schematic diagram of a multiplexer 338 that includes anacoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. The multiplexer 338illustrates that a multiplexer can include any suitable combination ofhard multiplexed and switched multiplexed filters. One or more BAWresonators in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein can be included in a filter that is hard multiplexed tothe common node of a multiplexer. Alternatively or additionally, one ormore BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein can be included in a filter that is switchmultiplexed to the common node of a multiplexer.

BAW resonators disclosed herein can be implemented in a variety ofpackaged modules. Some example packaged modules will now be discussed inwhich any suitable principles and advantages of the BAW devicesdisclosed herein can be implemented. Example packaged modules includeone or more acoustic wave filters and one or more radio frequencyamplifiers (e.g., one or more power amplifiers and/or one or more lownoise amplifiers) and/or one or more radio frequency switches. Theexample packaged modules can include a package that encloses theillustrated circuit elements. The illustrated circuit elements can bedisposed on a common packaging substrate. The packaging substrate can bea laminate substrate, for example. FIGS. 21 to 25 are schematic blockdiagrams of illustrative packaged modules according to certainembodiments. Any suitable combination of features of these packagedmodules can be implemented with each other. While duplexers areillustrated in the example packaged modules of FIGS. 21 to 25 , anyother suitable multiplexer that includes a plurality of filters coupledto a common node can be implemented instead of one or more duplexers.For example, a quadplexer can be implemented in certain applications.Alternatively or additionally, one or more filters of a packaged modulecan be arranged as a transmit filter or a receive filter that is notincluded in a multiplexer.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency module 340 thatincludes an acoustic wave component 342 according to an embodiment. Theillustrated radio frequency module 340 includes the acoustic wavecomponent 342 and other circuitry 343. The acoustic wave component 342can include one or more BAW resonators in accordance with any suitablecombination of features disclosed herein. The acoustic wave component342 can include a BAW die that includes BAW resonators.

The acoustic wave component 342 shown in FIG. 21 includes a filter 344and terminals 345A and 345B. The filter 344 includes one or more BAWresonators implemented in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein. The terminals 345A and 344B can serve, forexample, as an input contact and an output contact. The acoustic wavecomponent 342 and the other circuitry 343 are on a common packagingsubstrate 346 in FIG. 21 . The packaging substrate 346 can be a laminatesubstrate. The terminals 345A and 345B can be electrically connected tocontacts 347A and 347B, respectively, on the packaging substrate 346 byway of electrical connectors 348A and 348B, respectively. The electricalconnectors 348A and 348B can be bumps or wire bonds, for example.

The other circuitry 343 can include any suitable additional circuitry.For example, the other circuitry can include one or more radio frequencyamplifiers (e.g., one or more power amplifiers and/or one or more lownoise amplifiers), one or more power amplifiers, one or more radiofrequency switches, one or more additional filters, one or more lownoise amplifiers, one or more RF couplers, one or more delay lines, oneor more phase shifters, the like, or any suitable combination thereof.The other circuitry 343 can be electrically connected to the filter 344.The radio frequency module 340 can include one or more packagingstructures to, for example, provide protection and/or facilitate easierhandling of the radio frequency module 340. Such a packaging structurecan include an overmold structure formed over the packaging substrate346. The overmold structure can encapsulate some or all of thecomponents of the radio frequency module 340.

FIG. 22 is a schematic block diagram of a module 350 that includesmultiplexers 351A to 351N and an antenna switch 352. One or more filtersof the multiplexers 351A to 351N can include one or more BAW resonatorsin accordance with any suitable principles and advantages discussedherein. Any suitable number of multiplexers 351A to 351N can beimplemented. The antenna switch 352 can have a number of throwscorresponding to the number of multiplexers 351A to 351N. The antennaswitch 352 can include one or more additional throws coupled to one ormore filters external to the module 350 and/or coupled to othercircuitry. The antenna switch 352 can electrically couple a selectedduplexer to an antenna port of the module 350. The multiplexers 351A to351N can include one or more duplexers.

FIG. 23 is a schematic block diagram of a module 354 that includes apower amplifier 355, a radio frequency switch 356, and multiplexers 351Ato 351N in accordance with one or more embodiments. The power amplifier355 can amplify a radio frequency signal. The radio frequency switch 356can be a multi-throw radio frequency switch. The radio frequency switch356 can electrically couple an output of the power amplifier 355 to aselected transmit filter of the multiplexers 351A to 351N. One or morefilters of the multiplexers 351A to 351N can include any suitable numberof BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages discussed herein. Any suitable number of multiplexers 351A to351N can be implemented.

FIG. 24 is a schematic block diagram of a module 357 that includesmultiplexers 351A′ to 351N′, a radio frequency switch 358, and a lownoise amplifier 359 according to an embodiment. One or more filters ofthe multiplexers 351A′ to 351N′ can include any suitable number BAWresonators in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein. Any suitable number of multiplexers 351A′ to 351N′ canbe implemented. The radio frequency switch 358 can be a multi-throwradio frequency switch. The radio frequency switch 358 can electricallycouple an output of a selected filter of multiplexers 351A′ to 351N′ tothe low noise amplifier 359. In some embodiments (not illustrated), aplurality of low noise amplifiers can be implemented. The module 357 caninclude diversity receive features in certain applications.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency module 380 thatincludes an acoustic wave filter according to an embodiment. Asillustrated, the radio frequency module 380 includes duplexers 382A to382N that include respective transmit filters 383A1 to 383N1 andrespective receive filters 383A2 to 383N2, a power amplifier 384, aselect switch 385, and an antenna switch 386. The radio frequency module380 can include a package that encloses the illustrated elements. Theillustrated elements can be disposed on a common packaging substrate387. The packaging substrate 387 can be a laminate substrate, forexample. A radio frequency module that includes a power amplifier can bereferred to as a power amplifier module. A radio frequency module caninclude a subset of the elements illustrated in FIG. 25 and/oradditional elements. The radio frequency module 380 may include one ormore BAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein.

The duplexers 382A to 382N can each include two acoustic wave filterscoupled to a common node. For example, the two acoustic wave filters canbe a transmit filter and a receive filter. As illustrated, the transmitfilter and the receive filter can each be a band pass filter arranged tofilter a radio frequency signal. One or more of the transmit filters383A1 to 383N1 can include one or more BAW resonators in accordance withany suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein. Similarly, oneor more of the receive filters 383A2 to 383N2 can include one or moreBAW resonators in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein. Although FIG. 25 illustrates duplexers, any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein can be implemented in othermultiplexers (e.g., quadplexers, hexaplexers, octoplexers, etc.) and/orin switched multiplexers.

The power amplifier 384 can amplify a radio frequency signal. Theillustrated switch 385 is a multi-throw radio frequency switch. Theswitch 385 can electrically couple an output of the power amplifier 384to a selected transmit filter of the transmit filters 383A1 to 383N1. Insome instances, the switch 385 can electrically connect the output ofthe power amplifier 384 to more than one of the transmit filters 383A1to 383N1. The antenna switch 386 can selectively couple a signal fromone or more of the duplexers 382A to 382N to an antenna port ANT. Theduplexers 382A to 382N can be associated with different frequency bandsand/or different modes of operation (e.g., different power modes,different signaling modes, etc.).

BAW devices with stacked piezoelectric layers disclosed herein can beimplemented in a variety of wireless communication devices, such asmobile devices. One or more filters with any suitable number of BAWdevices implemented with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein can be included in a variety of wireless communicationdevices, such as mobile phones. The BAW devices can be included in afilter of a radio frequency front end. FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram ofone embodiment of a mobile device 390. The mobile device 390 includes abaseband system 391, a transceiver 392, a front end system 393, antennas394, a power management system 395, a memory 396, a user interface 397,and a battery 398.

The mobile device 390 can be used communicate using a wide variety ofcommunications technologies, including, but not limited to, secondgeneration (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G)(including LTE, LTE-Advanced, and LTE-Advanced Pro), fifth generation(5G) New Radio (NR), wireless local area network (WLAN) (for instance,WiFi), wireless personal area network (WPAN) (for instance, Bluetoothand ZigBee), WMAN (wireless metropolitan area network) (for instance,WiMax), Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies, or any suitablecombination thereof.

The transceiver 392 generates RF signals for transmission and processesincoming RF signals received from the antennas 394. It will beunderstood that various functionalities associated with the transmissionand receiving of RF signals can be achieved by one or more componentsthat are collectively represented in FIG. 26 as the transceiver 392. Inone example, separate components (for instance, separate circuits ordies) can be provided for handling certain types of RF signals.

The front end system 393 aids in conditioning signals transmitted toand/or received from the antennas 394. In the illustrated embodiment,the front end system 393 includes antenna tuning circuitry 400, poweramplifiers (PAs) 401, low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 402, filters 403,switches 404, and signal splitting/combining circuitry 405. However,other implementations are possible. One or more of the filters 403 canbe implemented in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein. For example, one or more of the filters 403 caninclude at least one BAW resonator with stacked piezoelectric layersincluding at least one piezoelectric layer formed by ALD to invertpolarization in the stack in accordance with any suitable principles andadvantages disclosed herein.

For example, the front end system 393 can provide a number offunctionalities, including, but not limited to, amplifying signals fortransmission, amplifying received signals, filtering signals, switchingbetween different bands, switching between different power modes,switching between transmission and receiving modes, duplexing ofsignals, multiplexing of signals (for instance, duplexing ortriplexing), or any suitable combination thereof.

In certain implementations, the mobile device 390 supports carrieraggregation, thereby providing flexibility to increase peak data rates.Carrier aggregation can be used for both Frequency Division Duplexing(FDD) and Time Division Duplexing (TDD), and may be used to aggregate aplurality of carriers or channels. Carrier aggregation includescontiguous aggregation, in which contiguous carriers within the sameoperating frequency band are aggregated. Carrier aggregation can also benon-contiguous, and can include carriers separated in frequency within acommon band or in different bands.

The antennas 394 can include antennas used for a wide variety of typesof communications. For example, the antennas 394 can include antennasfor transmitting and/or receiving signals associated with a wide varietyof frequencies and communications standards.

In certain implementations, the antennas 394 support MIMO communicationsand/or switched diversity communications. For example, MIMOcommunications use multiple antennas for communicating multiple datastreams over a single radio frequency channel. MIMO communicationsbenefit from higher signal to noise ratio, improved coding, and/orreduced signal interference due to spatial multiplexing differences ofthe radio environment. Switched diversity refers to communications inwhich a particular antenna is selected for operation at a particulartime. For example, a switch can be used to select a particular antennafrom a group of antennas based on a variety of factors, such as anobserved bit error rate and/or a signal strength indicator.

The mobile device 390 can operate with beamforming in certainimplementations. For example, the front end system 393 can includeamplifiers having controllable gain and phase shifters havingcontrollable phase to provide beam formation and directivity fortransmission and/or reception of signals using the antennas 394. Forexample, in the context of signal transmission, the amplitude and phasesof the transmit signals provided to the antennas 394 are controlled suchthat radiated signals from the antennas 394 combine using constructiveand destructive interference to generate an aggregate transmit signalexhibiting beam-like qualities with more signal strength propagating ina given direction. In the context of signal reception, the amplitude andphases are controlled such that more signal energy is received when thesignal is arriving to the antennas 394 from a particular direction. Incertain implementations, the antennas 394 include one or more arrays ofantenna elements to enhance beamforming.

The baseband system 391 is coupled to the user interface 397 tofacilitate processing of various user input and output (I/O), such asvoice and data. The baseband system 391 provides the transceiver 392with digital representations of transmit signals, which the transceiver392 processes to generate RF signals for transmission. The basebandsystem 391 also processes digital representations of received signalsprovided by the transceiver 392. As shown in FIG. 26 , the basebandsystem 391 is coupled to the memory 396 to facilitate operation of themobile device 390.

The memory 396 can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such asstoring data and/or instructions to facilitate the operation of themobile device 390 and/or to provide storage of user information.

The power management system 395 provides a number of power managementfunctions of the mobile device 390. In certain implementations, thepower management system 395 includes a PA supply control circuit thatcontrols the supply voltages of the power amplifiers 401. For example,the power management system 395 can be configured to change the supplyvoltage(s) provided to one or more of the power amplifiers 401 toimprove efficiency, such as power added efficiency (PAE).

As shown in FIG. 26 , the power management system 395 receives a batteryvoltage from the battery 398. The battery 398 can be any suitablebattery for use in the mobile device 390, including, for example, alithium-ion battery.

Technology disclosed herein can be implemented in acoustic wave filtersin 5G applications. 5G technology is also referred to herein as 5G NewRadio (NR). 5G NR supports and/or plans to support a variety offeatures, such as communications over millimeter wave spectrum,beamforming capability, high spectral efficiency waveforms, low latencycommunications, multiple radio numerology, and/or non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA). Although such RF functionalities offerflexibility to networks and enhance user data rates, supporting suchfeatures can pose a number of technical challenges.

The teachings herein are applicable to a wide variety of communicationsystems, including, but not limited to, communication systems usingadvanced cellular technologies, such as LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro,and/or 5G NR. An acoustic wave device including any suitable combinationof features disclosed herein be included in a filter arranged to filtera radio frequency signal in a 5G NR operating band within FrequencyRange 1 (FR1). A filter arranged to filter a radio frequency signal in a5G NR operating band can include one or more BAW devices disclosedherein. FR1 can be from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, for example, as specifiedin a current 5G NR specification. One or more BAW devices in accordancewith any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein can beincluded in a filter arranged to filter a radio frequency signal in afourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE). One or more BAWdevices in accordance with any suitable principles and advantagesdisclosed herein can be included in a filter having a passband thatincludes a 4G LTE operating band and a 5G NR operating band. Such afilter can be implemented in a dual connectivity application, such as anE-UTRAN New Radio—Dual Connectivity (ENDC) application.

BAW devices disclosed herein can provide high resonant frequenciesand/or desirable power ruggedness. Such features can be advantageous in5G NR applications. For example, such filters can filter RF signalswithin high frequency bands. At the same time, the filters can havedesirable power ruggedness for meeting 5G performance specifications atthe filter level and/or at the system level.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of one example of a communication network410. The communication network 410 includes a macro cell base station411, a small cell base station 413, and various examples of userequipment (UE), including a first mobile device 412 a, awireless-connected car 412 b, a laptop 412 c, a stationary wirelessdevice 412 d, a wireless-connected train 412 e, a second mobile device412 f, and a third mobile device 412 g. UEs are wireless communicationdevices. One or more of the macro cell base station 411, the small cellbase station 413, or UEs illustrated in FIG. 27 can implement one ormore of the acoustic wave filters in accordance with any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein. For example, one or more ofthe UEs shown in FIG. 27 can include one or more acoustic wave filtersthat include any suitable number of BAW resonators in accordance withany suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein.

Although specific examples of base stations and user equipment areillustrated in FIG. 27 , a communication network can include basestations and user equipment of a wide variety of types and/or numbers.For instance, in the example shown, the communication network 410includes the macro cell base station 411 and the small cell base station413. The small cell base station 413 can operate with relatively lowerpower, shorter range, and/or with fewer concurrent users relative to themacro cell base station 411. The small cell base station 413 can also bereferred to as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Although thecommunication network 410 is illustrated as including two base stations,the communication network 410 can be implemented to include more orfewer base stations and/or base stations of other types.

Although various examples of user equipment are shown, the teachingsherein are applicable to a wide variety of user equipment, including,but not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, Internet of Things(IoT) devices, wearable electronics, customer premises equipment (CPE),wireless-connected vehicles, wireless relays, and/or a wide variety ofother communication devices. Furthermore, user equipment includes notonly currently available communication devices that operate in acellular network, but also subsequently developed communication devicesthat will be readily implementable with the inventive systems,processes, methods, and devices as described and claimed herein.

The illustrated communication network 410 of FIG. 27 supportscommunications using a variety of cellular technologies, including, forexample, 4G LTE and 5G NR. In certain implementations, the communicationnetwork 410 is further adapted to provide a wireless local area network(WLAN), such as WiFi. Although various examples of communicationtechnologies have been provided, the communication network 410 can beadapted to support a wide variety of communication technologies.

Various communication links of the communication network 410 have beendepicted in FIG. 27 . The communication links can be duplexed in a widevariety of ways, including, for example, using frequency-divisionduplexing (FDD) and/or time-division duplexing (TDD). FDD is a type ofradio frequency communications that uses different frequencies fortransmitting and receiving signals. FDD can provide a number ofadvantages, such as high data rates and low latency. In contrast, TDD isa type of radio frequency communications that uses about the samefrequency for transmitting and receiving signals, and in which transmitand receive communications are switched in time. TDD can provide anumber of advantages, such as efficient use of spectrum and variableallocation of throughput between transmit and receive directions.

In certain implementations, user equipment can communicate with a basestation using one or more of 4G LTE, 5G NR, and WiFi technologies. Incertain implementations, enhanced license assisted access (eLAA) is usedto aggregate one or more licensed frequency carriers (for instance,licensed 4G LTE and/or 5G NR frequencies), with one or more unlicensedcarriers (for instance, unlicensed WiFi frequencies).

As shown in FIG. 27 , the communication links include not onlycommunication links between UE and base stations, but also UE to UEcommunications and base station to base station communications. Forexample, the communication network 410 can be implemented to supportself-fronthaul and/or self-backhaul (for instance, as between mobiledevice 412 g and mobile device 412 f).

The communication links can operate over a wide variety of frequencies.In certain implementations, communications are supported using 5G NRtechnology over one or more frequency bands that are less than 6 GHzand/or over one or more frequency bands that are greater than 6 GHz.According to certain implementations, the communication links can serveFrequency Range 1 (FR1), Frequency Range 2 (FR2), or a combinationthereof. An acoustic wave filter in accordance with any suitableprinciples and advantages disclosed herein can filter a radio frequencysignal within FR1. In one embodiment, one or more of the mobile devicessupport a HPUE power class specification.

In certain implementations, a base station and/or user equipmentcommunicates using beamforming. For example, beamforming can be used tofocus signal strength to overcome path losses, such as high lossassociated with communicating over high signal frequencies. In certainembodiments, user equipment, such as one or more mobile phones,communicate using beamforming on millimeter wave frequency bands in therange of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and/or upper centimeter wave frequencies inthe range of 6 GHz to 30 GHz, or more particularly, 24 GHz to 30 GHz.

Different users of the communication network 410 can share availablenetwork resources, such as available frequency spectrum, in a widevariety of ways. In one example, frequency division multiple access(FDMA) is used to divide a frequency band into multiple frequencycarriers. Additionally, one or more carriers are allocated to aparticular user. Examples of FDMA include, but are not limited to,single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) and orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA). OFDMA is amulticarrier technology that subdivides the available bandwidth intomultiple mutually orthogonal narrowband subcarriers, which can beseparately assigned to different users.

Other examples of shared access include, but are not limited to, timedivision multiple access (TDMA) in which a user is allocated particulartime slots for using a frequency resource, code division multiple access(CDMA) in which a frequency resource is shared amongst different usersby assigning each user a unique code, space-divisional multiple access(SDMA) in which beamforming is used to provide shared access by spatialdivision, and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) in which the powerdomain is used for multiple access. For example, NOMA can be used toserve multiple users at the same frequency, time, and/or code, but withdifferent power levels.

Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) refers to technology for growing systemcapacity of LTE networks. For example, eMBB can refer to communicationswith a peak data rate of at least 10 Gbps and a minimum of 100 Mbps foreach user. Ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC) refers totechnology for communication with very low latency, for instance, lessthan 3 milliseconds. uRLLC can be used for mission-criticalcommunications such as for autonomous driving and/or remote surgeryapplications. Massive machine-type communications (mMTC) refers to lowcost and low data rate communications associated with wirelessconnections to everyday objects, such as those associated with Internetof Things (IoT) applications.

The communication network 410 of FIG. 27 can be used to support a widevariety of advanced communication features, including, but not limitedto, eMBB, uRLLC, and/or mMTC.

Any of the embodiments described above can be implemented in associationwith mobile devices such as cellular handsets. The principles andadvantages of the embodiments can be used for any systems or apparatus,such as any uplink wireless communication device, that could benefitfrom any of the embodiments described herein. The teachings herein areapplicable to a variety of systems. Although this disclosure includessome example embodiments, the teachings described herein can be appliedto a variety of structures. Any of the principles and advantagesdiscussed herein can be implemented in association with RF circuitsconfigured to process signals in a frequency range from about 30 kHz to300 GHz, such as in a frequency range from about 450 MHz to 5 GHz, in afrequency range from about 450 MHz to 8.5 GHz or in a frequency rangefrom about 450 MHz to 10 GHz.

Aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in various electronicdevices. Examples of the electronic devices can include, but are notlimited to, consumer electronic products, parts of the consumerelectronic products such as packaged radio frequency modules, uplinkwireless communication devices, wireless communication infrastructure,electronic test equipment, etc. Examples of the electronic devices caninclude, but are not limited to, a mobile phone such as a smart phone, awearable computing device such as a smart watch or an ear piece, atelephone, a television, a computer monitor, a computer, a modem, ahand-held computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a microwave, arefrigerator, a vehicular electronics system such as an automotiveelectronics system, a stereo system, a digital music player, a radio, acamera such as a digital camera, a portable memory chip, a washer, adryer, a washer/dryer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a scanner, amulti-functional peripheral device, a wrist watch, a clock, etc.Further, the electronic devices can include unfinished products.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, throughout the description andthe claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” “including”and the like are to generally be construed in an inclusive sense, asopposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in thesense of “including, but not limited to.” Conditional language usedherein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,”“for example,” “such as” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orstates. The word “coupled”, as generally used herein, refers to two ormore elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by wayof one or more intermediate elements. Likewise, the word “connected”, asgenerally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be eitherdirectly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediateelements. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and wordsof similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to thisapplication as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel resonators described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the resonatorsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. Any suitable combination of the elements and/or acts of thevarious embodiments described above can be combined to provide furtherembodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bulk acoustic wave device with stackedpiezoelectric layers, the bulk acoustic wave device comprising: a firstelectrode; a second electrode; and a plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode,the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers including a piezoelectriclayer formed by atomic layer deposition, the bulk acoustic wave deviceconfigured to excite an overtone mode as a main mode.
 2. The bulkacoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of stackedpiezoelectric layers includes a piezoelectric layer formed by sputteringthat is directly over the piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition, and the piezoelectric layer formed by sputtering has a samepolarization as the piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition.
 3. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein theplurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includes a piezoelectric layerformed by sputtering that is directly under the piezoelectric layerformed by atomic layer deposition, and the piezoelectric layer formed bysputtering has an opposite polarization as the piezoelectric layerformed by atomic layer deposition.
 4. The bulk acoustic wave device ofclaim 1 wherein the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includes asecond piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition.
 5. Thebulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of stackedpiezoelectric layers includes alternating piezoelectric layers formed byatomic layer deposition and piezoelectric layers formed by a methoddifferent than atomic layer deposition.
 6. The bulk acoustic wave deviceof claim 5 wherein at least one of the piezoelectric layers formed bythe method different than atomic layer deposition includes a dopant. 7.The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 5 wherein each of thepiezoelectric layers formed by the method different than atomic layerdeposition includes a dopant.
 8. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim6 wherein the dopant is scandium.
 9. The bulk acoustic wave device ofclaim 1 wherein the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includes adoped piezoelectric layer, and the piezoelectric layer formed by atomiclayer deposition is undoped.
 10. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim1 wherein each of the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers includesaluminum nitride.
 11. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 whereinthe overtone mode has a frequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 40gigahertz.
 12. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein theovertone mode has a frequency in a range from 20 gigahertz to 30gigahertz.
 13. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein theovertone mode has a frequency in a range from 24 gigahertz to 30gigahertz.
 14. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 wherein theovertone mode has a frequency in a range from 10 gigahertz to 20gigahertz.
 15. The bulk acoustic wave device of claim 1 furthercomprising an interposer layer positioned between the piezoelectriclayer formed by atomic layer deposition and another one of the pluralityof stacked piezoelectric layers.
 16. A packaged radio frequency modulecomprising: an acoustic wave filter configured to filter a radiofrequency signal, the acoustic wave filter including bulk acoustic waveresonator, the bulk acoustic wave resonator including a plurality ofstacked piezoelectric layers, the plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers including a piezoelectric layer formed by atomic layerdeposition, and the bulk acoustic wave resonator configured to excite anovertone mode as a main mode; a radio frequency circuit element; and apackage structure enclosing the acoustic wave filter and the radiofrequency circuit element.
 17. The packaged radio frequency module ofclaim 16 wherein the overtone mode has a frequency in a range from 10gigahertz to 40 gigahertz.
 18. The packaged radio frequency module ofclaim 16 wherein the radio frequency circuit element includes a radiofrequency switch.
 19. The packaged radio frequency module of claim 16wherein the radio frequency circuit element includes a radio frequencyamplifier.
 20. A method of filtering a radio frequency signal, themethod comprising: receiving a radio frequency signal at an acousticwave filter that includes a bulk acoustic wave resonator, the bulkacoustic wave resonator including a plurality of stacked piezoelectriclayers, the plurality of stacked piezoelectric layers including apiezoelectric layer formed by atomic layer deposition, and the bulkacoustic wave resonator configured to excite an overtone mode as a mainmode; and filtering the radio frequency signal with the acoustic wavefilter.